CN111867459A - Motion sickness estimation system, moving vehicle, motion sickness estimation method and motion sickness estimation procedure - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention solves the problem of providing a motion sickness estimation system, a moving vehicle, a motion sickness estimation method, and a motion sickness estimation program that can reduce the likelihood of an onset of motion sickness. The motion sickness estimation system (10) includes an estimation unit (312) and an output unit (313). The estimation unit (312) is configured to perform an estimation process of estimating whether the person on the moving vehicle is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on the person information indicating the condition of the person on the moving vehicle. The output unit (313) is configured to output the result of the estimation process performed by the estimation unit (312).

Description

Motion sickness estimation system, moving vehicle, motion sickness estimation method and motion sickness estimation procedure

technical field

The present disclosure generally relates to motion sickness estimation systems, moving vehicles, motion sickness estimation methods, and motion sickness estimation programs. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a motion sickness estimation system, a moving vehicle, a motion sickness estimation method, and motion sickness that are configured or designed to estimate the likelihood of inducing motion sickness (also referred to as "motion sickness") for a person on a moving vehicle Symptom estimation procedure.

Background technique

Patent Document 1 discloses a motion sickness reducing device. The motion sickness alleviation device of Patent Document 1 includes stimulation means for applying a stimulus that induces a driver-like head movement to an occupant in a moving vehicle. The stimulation means induces this driver-like head movement to the occupant, and also to other occupants, by pushing the eccentric side portion of the occupant's body when the moving vehicle turns.

The motion sickness reducing device of Patent Document 1 induces such a driver-like head movement to the occupant regardless of whether or not the occupant shows signs of onset of motion sickness (motion sickness). Therefore, if the passenger does not show signs of motion sickness (motion sickness), motion sickness like the driver's head movement may instead induce motion sickness.

Citation List

Patent Literature

Patent Document 1: JP 2012-131269 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problem to be solved is to provide a motion sickness estimation system, a moving vehicle, a motion sickness estimation method, and a motion sickness estimation program that are configured or designed to reduce the likelihood of inducing motion sickness.

A motion sickness estimation system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes an estimation unit configured to perform an estimation of whether a person is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on person information indicating a condition of the person on the moving vehicle processing; and an output unit configured to output a result of the estimation processing performed by the estimation unit.

A moving vehicle according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes: the above-described motion sickness estimation system; and a body on which the motion sickness estimation system is installed.

A motion sickness estimation method according to still another aspect of the present disclosure includes a first step of performing an estimation process of estimating whether a person is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on person information indicating the condition of the person on the moving vehicle ; and the second step, outputting the result of the estimation process.

A motion sickness estimation program according to yet another aspect of the present disclosure is designed to provide first instructions and second instructions to one or more processors when executed by one or more processors. The first instruction is an instruction for performing an estimation process of estimating whether the person is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on person information indicating the condition of the person on the moving vehicle. The second instruction is an instruction for outputting the result of the estimation process.

Description of drawings

1 is a block diagram of a motion sickness estimation system according to an exemplary embodiment;

Figure 2 shows a moving vehicle;

Figure 3 shows a seat of a moving vehicle;

Figure 4 shows how the motion sickness estimation system performs the estimation process;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation process of the motion sickness estimation system; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of a motion sickness estimation system according to a modification.

Detailed ways

1. Example

1.1 Overview

FIG. 1 shows a motion sickness estimation system 10 according to an exemplary embodiment. The motion sickness estimation system 10 includes an estimation unit 412 and an output unit 413 . The estimation unit 412 is configured to perform an estimation process that estimates whether the person 200 is in a situation that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness based on the person information indicating the condition of the person 200 on the moving vehicle (the car 100 ) as shown in FIG. 2 . disease environment. The output unit 413 is configured to output the result of the estimation process performed by the estimation unit 412 .

The motion sickness estimation system 10 estimates whether a person is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness. As used herein, estimating whether a person is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness is estimating the likelihood of inducing person 200 to experience motion sickness, without speculating whether person 200 is experiencing motion sickness at the current point in time. In other words, it can be said that estimating whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness means predicting whether the continuation of the current environment will cause the person 200 to experience motion sickness within a predetermined time (eg, within ten minutes). That is, the estimation process is to estimate the possibility of inducing the onset of motion sickness before the person 200 actually develops motion sickness. Then, in the motion sickness estimation system 10 , the result of the estimation process is output by the output unit 413 . This makes it possible to perform a process of prompting the person 200 to take preventive measures against motion sickness, or to perform a process of preventing the person 200 from developing motion sickness. Thus, the motion sickness estimation system 10 reduces the episodes of motion sickness.

1.2. Configuration

The motion sickness estimation system 10 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the motion sickness estimation system 10 includes a sensing system 20 , a device system 30 and a controller 40 . FIG. 2 shows an automobile 100 as an exemplary moving vehicle to which the motion sickness estimation system 10 is applied. In the automobile 100, the motion sickness estimation system 10 is installed on the body 101 thereof. The body 101 also includes a seat 110 , a dashboard 120 and a roof 130 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the sensing system 20 includes an acceleration sensor 21 a , an angular velocity sensor 21 b , a scent sensor 22 , a pressure sensor 23 , a camera 24 , an infrared sensor 25 , a millimeter wave sensor 26 , a terahertz wave sensor 27 , and an exhalation sensor 28 .

The acceleration sensor 21a, the angular velocity sensor 21b, and the smell sensor 22 are used to acquire moving vehicle information indicating the condition of the moving vehicle (car 100). The moving vehicle information includes behavior information indicating the behavior of the moving vehicle (car 100 ) and atmosphere information indicating the atmosphere in the interior space (inside the body 101 ) of the moving vehicle (car 100 ).

As shown in FIG. 2 , an acceleration sensor 21 a is installed in the body 101 to measure the acceleration of the automobile 100 . The acceleration sensor 21a is used to acquire behavior information. The behavior of the automobile 100 indicated by the behavior information includes the traveling direction and propulsion of the automobile 100 . The traveling direction and propulsion force of the automobile 100 are calculated based on the acceleration of the automobile 100 measured by the acceleration sensor 21a.

As shown in FIG. 2 , an angular velocity sensor 21 b is also installed in the body 101 to measure the angular velocity of the automobile 100 . The angular velocity sensor 21b is used to acquire behavior information. The behavior of the car 100 indicated by the behavior information includes the turning direction and the turning speed of the car 100 . The turning direction and turning speed of the car 100 are calculated based on the angular velocity of the car 100 measured by the angular velocity sensor 21b.

The smell sensor 22 is used to obtain atmosphere information. Examples of the atmosphere in the interior space of the car 100 indicated by the atmosphere information include smell, brightness, and temperature. In this embodiment, the atmosphere information indicates the smell in the interior space of the car 100 . The smell sensor 22 is a gas sensor for measuring the concentration of gas that affects smell. The odor-influencing gas may be, for example, a gas that tends to induce motion sickness in the person 200 . Specific examples of such gases include volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde, toluene, and gasoline.

The pressure sensor 23 , the camera 24 , the infrared sensor 25 , the millimeter wave sensor 26 , the terahertz wave sensor 27 , and the exhalation sensor 28 are used to acquire person information indicating the condition of the person 200 on the moving vehicle (car 100 ). The person information includes posture information indicating the posture of the person 200 , evolution information indicating how the biological information of the person 200 changes, and emotion information indicating the emotion (instantaneous value or changing value) of the person 200 . Examples of the biological information of the person 200 include exhalation, body temperature (especially, the temperature of the nose), skin color, heartbeat, breathing, and blinking.

The pressure sensor 23 is used to acquire posture information. The pressure sensor 23 is installed in each seat 110 of the automobile 100 . For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , the pressure sensor 23 may include a first pressure sensor 231 , a second pressure sensor 232 and a third pressure sensor 233 . The first pressure sensor 231 is installed below the support surface 111 of the seat 110 to detect the center of gravity of the person 200 . In this way, the first pressure sensor 231 detects the center of gravity of the person 200 and the distribution of the pressure exerted by the person 200 on the moving vehicle 100 . The output of the first pressure sensor 231 is used to calculate the inclination angle θ1 defined by the central axis P11 of the head 210 of the person 200 relative to the central axis P12 of his or her torso 220 as shown in FIG. The inclination angle θ2 defined by P12 with respect to the horizontal plane. These inclination angles θ1 and θ2 of the person 200 are used to evaluate the posture of the person. The second pressure sensor 232 and the third pressure sensor 233 are installed in the backrest 112 and the headrest 113 , respectively, to detect the distribution of the pressure applied by the person 200 to the moving vehicle 100 . In particular, the second pressure sensor 232 is used to improve the measurement accuracy of the central axis P12 (see FIG. 4 ) of the torso 220 of the person 200 . Meanwhile, the third pressure sensor 233 is used to improve the measurement accuracy of the central axis P11 (see FIG. 4 ) of the head 210 of the person 200 .

The camera 24 , the infrared sensor 25 , the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 together form a sensor unit 29 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the sensor unit 29 is mounted on the roof 130 of the automobile 100 . Alternatively, the sensor unit 29 may be installed in the instrument panel 120 instead of the roof 310 . Optionally, the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 may be additionally installed in the line of sight of the passenger (ie, the person 200 on the car 100 ). At this time, only the RF circuit portion including the antenna of the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 may be installed in the line of sight of the passenger.

The camera 24 is used to generate an image of the person 200 (in particular, to present an image of the head 210 of the person 200). The image of person 200 generated by camera 24 is used to obtain pose information. That is, the images generated by the camera 24 are used to calculate the inclination angles θ1 , θ2 of the person 200 . In addition, the camera 24 is also used to obtain emotional information. That is, the image of the person 200 generated by the camera 24 is used to determine the mood of the person 200 .

The infrared sensor 25 may be embodied as an infrared image sensor to generate a thermal image of the person 200 . The output (thermal image) of the infrared sensor 25 is used to acquire a change in body temperature (in particular, the temperature of the nose) as a piece of evolution information. In addition, the thermal image generated by the infrared sensor 25 is also used to obtain posture information. That is, the thermal image is used to calculate the inclination angles θ1 , θ2 of the person 200 . In addition, the infrared sensor 25 is also used to obtain emotional information. That is, the thermal image is used to determine the mood of the person 200 .

The millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 detect frequencies caused by body motion of the person 200 . The heartbeat variation spectrum (heartbeat fluctuation spectrum) is obtained based on the respective outputs of the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 . The heartbeat variation spectrum can be separated into low frequency components falling within a frequency band of about 0.05 Hz to about 0.15 Hz and high frequency components falling within a frequency band of about 0.15 Hz to about 0.8 Hz. The low frequency components are affected by modulation of the activity of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems due to feedback control of blood pressure. The low-frequency components of the heartbeat variation spectrum include components derived from blood pressure variation (blood pressure components). On the other hand, the high-frequency components of the heartbeat variation spectrum include components derived from respiration (respiration components). The peak frequency of this respiratory component will be the respiratory rate. In view of these considerations, the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 are used in combination to obtain evolution information. The evolution information acquired by the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 indicates changes in heartbeat and respiration. Sensors with directivity can be used as the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 . In this case, the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 can acquire frequency components from a space where the person 200 exists, and can acquire frequency components from a space where the person 200 does not exist. The difference between the frequency component from the space where the person 200 is present and the frequency component from the space where the person 200 is not present is calculated so that, for example, noise caused by shaking of a moving vehicle (car 100 ) or the like can be reduced. This allows the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 to measure frequency components more accurately. Alternatively, the directivity of the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 may be controlled mechanically by controlling the direction of the antenna, or electronically by using an array antenna. Alternatively, the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 may also be replaced by microwave sensors. In short, any suitable frequency sensor can be used without limitation.

The exhalation sensor 28 is a gas sensor for detecting gas included in the exhalation of the person 200 . The exhalation sensor 28 is used to obtain evolution information. The evolution information acquired by the exhalation sensor 28 is the change in exhalation. Examples of gases detected by exhalation sensor 28 include gases associated with motion sickness such as carbon dioxide. A decrease in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the exhaled breath is considered a sign of an episode of motion sickness. Examples of gases detected by exhalation sensor 28 also include mood (such as stress) related gases (eg, aldehyde-based gases and pyrrole-based gases). The concentration of aldehyde-based or pyrrole-based gases is thought to be positively correlated with mood (stress). For example, an increase in pressure can be determined as the concentration of aldehyde increases. As shown in FIG. 2 , the exhalation sensor 28 is provided at the front of the headrest 113 of the front seat 110 and at the rear of the headrest 113 . The exhalation sensor 28 provided at the front of the headrest 113 is used to detect exhalation of the person 200 sitting on the front seat 110 . The exhalation sensor 28 provided behind the headrest 113 is used to detect the exhalation of another person 200 sitting on the seat 110 behind.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the equipment system 30 includes a speaker 31 , a car navigation system 32 , an air conditioner 33 , a power window 34 , a drive unit 35 , an odor control device 36 , a relaxation device 37 , a ride controller 38 and a cooling device 39 . A speaker 31 , a car navigation system 32 , an air conditioner 33 , a power window 34 , a drive unit 35 , an odor control device 36 , a relaxation device 37 , a running controller 38 , and a cooling device 39 are installed in the body 101 .

The speaker 31 , the car navigation system 32 , the air conditioner 33 and the power window 34 are in-vehicle equipment of the car 100 . The speaker 31 is a device for reproducing sound, music and other types of audio data. The car navigation system 32 is, for example, a system used to assist the driver in navigating the car 100 to his or her destination. For example, some car navigation systems 32 may include a 3D head-up display (HUD) that displays information by projecting virtual images into the line of sight of person 200 . Such virtual images tend to cause the person 200 to suffer from motion sickness more easily than the images displayed on the liquid crystal display. The air conditioner 33 is a device for controlling the temperature in the automobile 100 . The power window 34 is a device for opening and closing the windows of the automobile 100 . The functions of the speaker 31 , the car navigation system 32 , the air conditioner 33 and the power window 34 are well known in the art, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted here.

The drive unit 35 is installed in the seat 110 of the moving vehicle (car 100 ), and has the ability to change the surface shape of the seat 110 . The driving unit 35 causes the person 200 sitting on the seat 110 to change his or her posture by changing the surface shape of the seat 110 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the driving unit 35 includes a pair of first actuators 351 , a pair of second actuators 352 and a pair of third actuators 353 . A pair of first actuators 351 are provided with respect to the support surface 111 of the seat 110 to be arranged side by side in the left/right direction with respect to the support surface 111 . Each of these first actuators 351 changes the shape of the bearing surface 111 by driving the arm with a power source, such as an air bag or a motor, and thereby applying pressure to the bearing surface 111 from the inside to the outside. A pair of the first actuators 351 may be controlled respectively. This causes the bearing surface 111 to be inclined to the right or left. In addition, the pair of first actuators 351 may also control the inclination angles thereof in the forward/rearward directions, respectively. This causes the support surface 111 to slope forward or backward. A pair of second actuators 352 are provided for the backrest 112 of the seat 110 to be arranged side by side in the left/right direction with respect to the backrest 112 . Each of these second actuators 352 changes the surface shape of the backrest 112 by driving the arms with a power source, such as an air bag or motor, and thereby applying pressure to the backrest 112 from the inside to the outside. A pair of second actuators 352 can be controlled respectively. This tilts the surface of the backrest 112 to the right or left. In addition, the pair of second actuators 352 may also control the inclination angles thereof in the upward/downward directions, respectively. This causes the backrest 112 to tilt up or down. A pair of third actuators 353 are provided for the headrest 113 of the seat 110 to be arranged side by side in the left/right direction with respect to the headrest 113 . Each of these third actuators 353 changes the surface shape of the headrest 113 by driving the arm with a power source such as an air bag or a motor and thereby applying pressure to the headrest 113 from the inside to the outside. A pair of third actuators 353 may be controlled respectively. This causes the surface of the headrest 113 to be inclined rightward or leftward. In addition, the pair of third actuators 353 may also control the inclination angles thereof in the upward/downward directions, respectively. This causes the surface of the headrest 113 to be inclined upward or downward. In addition, the drive unit 35 also has the ability to adjust the angle defined by the backrest 112 of the seat 110 relative to its support surface 111 . In this embodiment, the drive unit 35 is a device for driving the seat 110 . In this embodiment, the drive unit 35 is provided for each seat 110 of the automobile 100 .

The odor control device 36 has components for controlling odor in the automobile 100 . In this embodiment, the odor control device 36 is configured to emit ingredients for controlling odor in the automobile 100 . Examples of such ingredients for odor control include deodorizing ingredients (deodorants) and fragrance ingredients (air fresheners). For example, the odor control device 36 may diffuse such odor control components inside the automobile 100 by emitting the odor control components through the air outlet of the air conditioner 33 . Alternatively, the odor control device 36 may also emit such odor control ingredients directly at the person 200 . Emitting the odor control composition directly toward the person 200 allows only the odor around the person 200 who is likely to suffer from motion sickness to be controlled. Optionally, the odor control device 36 may also have a component for absorbing odor as a deodorant component. In this case, the odor control device 36 does not have to emit such deodorant components when odor control is required, but only needs to mix the deodorant components with the air in the automobile 100 .

The relaxation device 37 is a device for producing a relaxation effect on the person 200 . In this embodiment, the relaxation device 37 produces a relaxation effect by using the speaker 31 , the air conditioner 33 , the power windows 34 , the drive unit 35 and the odor control device 36 . The relaxation device 37 produces a relaxation effect by playing music through the speaker 31 . Suitably, the music is a music tune with a relaxing effect or a music tune that the person 200 likes. In addition, the relaxation device 37 also produces a relaxation effect by adjusting the air in the interior space of the automobile 100 to make it comfortable using the air conditioner 33 . For example, relaxation device 37 may generate warm air at a comfortable temperature for occupant 200 in the interior of automobile 100 . That is, the relaxation device 37 controls the condition of the air in the car 100 according to the physical condition of the person 200, such as his or her body temperature. In addition, the relaxation device 37 also produces a relaxation effect by opening the vehicle window using the power window 34 to allow outdoor air to enter. In addition, the relaxation device 37 can also produce a relaxation effect by massaging the person 200 sitting on the seat 110 using the driving unit 35 and thereby relaxing his or her muscles. In addition, the relaxation device 37 can also produce a relaxation effect by adjusting the angle of the backrest 112 using the driving unit 35 . In addition, the relaxation device 37 further produces a relaxation effect by causing the odor control device 36 to emit an aroma component.

The travel controller 38 is a device for controlling the travel of the automobile 100 . The ride controller 38 has the ability to automatically control the speed of the vehicle 100 . Therefore, the travel controller 38 can decelerate or stop the automobile 100 regardless of the operation of the driver of the automobile 100 .

The cooling device 39 is configured to cool a part of the body of the person 200 . Examples of parts of the body include the neck or the part between the legs. The cooling device 39 may include Peltier elements provided for the support surface 111 of the seat 110 and the headrest 113 . Alternatively, cooling device 39 may also cool a portion of the body of person 200 by any known cooling method, such as water cooling or air cooling. Still alternatively, the air conditioner 33 may also be used as the cooling device 39 . Still alternatively, a cooling fan provided for the seat 110 may also be used as the cooling device 39 . Alternatively, the cooling device 39 need not be a single cooling device, but can also be a system comprising multiple cooling devices. For example, the cooling device 39 may include a Peltier element, an air cooling fan, and an air conditioner. This increases the cooling rate of the body of the person 200 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the controller 40 includes a processing unit 41 and a communication unit 42 .

The communication unit 42 is arranged to acquire information from an external device. In this embodiment, the external devices include a data center 50 and a telecommunication device 60 . That is, the controller 40 can be connected to the data center 50 and the telecommunication device 60 via the communication unit 42 and can communicate with the data center 50 and the telecommunication device 60 . The communication unit 42 is a communication interface for establishing communication on the communication network. The communication unit 32 conforms to a communication protocol compatible with communication over a communication network. The communication network need not be a network conforming to a single communication protocol, but can also be composed of multiple networks conforming to a plurality of different communication protocols. The communication protocol can be selected from a variety of known wired and wireless communication standards. However, it is suitable that the communication between the communication unit 42 and the external device is established via mobile communication. Note that a communications network may include any of a variety of data communications devices, such as repeater hubs, switching hubs, bridges, gateways, and routers, as desired.

In this case, the data center 50 is a device for collecting information about motion sickness. The data center 50 may include, for example, a server for collecting information about motion sickness from a plurality of moving vehicles, and a device installed in the moving vehicle itself to collect information about motion sickness from the moving vehicle. Such information about motion sickness collected by the data center 50 can be used to improve the accuracy of the estimation process.

The telecommunication device 60 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer or any other mobile telecommunication device owned by the person 200 in the car 100 .

The processing unit 41 may be implemented as one or more processors (microprocessors) and one or more memories. That is, one or more processors act as processing unit 41 by executing one or more programs stored in one or more memories. One or more programs may be pre-stored in memory. Alternatively, the one or more programs may also be downloaded via a telecommunication line such as the Internet, or distributed after having been stored in a non-transitory storage medium such as a memory card.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the processing unit 41 includes an input unit 411 , an estimation unit 412 , an output unit 413 , a notification unit 414 , a control unit 415 and a storage unit 416 . Note that the input unit 411 , the estimation unit 412 , the output unit 413 , the notification unit 414 , the control unit 415 , and the storage unit 416 do not have a physical structure, but represent various functions performed by the processing unit 41 .

The input unit 411 is configured to receive the output of the sensing system 20 . The outputs of the sensing system 20 include the corresponding outputs of the acceleration sensor 21a, the angular velocity sensor 21b, the odor sensor 22, the pressure sensor 23, the camera 24, the infrared sensor 25, the millimeter wave sensor 26, the terahertz wave sensor 27, and the exhalation sensor 28, all of which are These are included in the sensing system 20 .

The estimation unit 412 is configured to perform an estimation process that estimates whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness based on the person information indicating the condition of the person 200 on the moving vehicle (car 100 ). The estimation unit 412 is configured to perform estimation processing with reference not only to the person information but also to the moving vehicle information indicating the condition of the moving vehicle (car 100 ). That is, the estimation unit 412 performs estimation processing of estimating whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness with reference to the person information and the moving vehicle information.

Before performing the estimation process, the estimation unit 412 acquires person information and moving vehicle information.

The estimation unit 412 acquires person information based on the respective outputs of the pressure sensor 23 , the camera 24 , the infrared sensor 25 , the millimeter wave sensor 26 , the terahertz wave sensor 27 , and the exhalation sensor 28 . Person information includes posture information, evolution information, and emotion information as described above.

In order to acquire posture information, the estimation unit 412 uses the pressure sensor 23 , the camera 24 and the infrared sensor 25 . That is, the estimation unit 412 acquires posture information based on the respective outputs of the pressure sensor 23 , the camera 24 and the infrared sensor 25 . In this embodiment, the posture of the person 200 indicated by the posture information is represented by the inclination angles θ1 , θ2 defined by the person 200 . The estimation unit 412 obtains the inclination angles θ1 , θ2 based on the center of gravity of the person 200 detected by the pressure sensor 23 and the distribution of the pressure exerted by the person 200 on the moving vehicle 100 . In this embodiment, the estimation unit 412 finally determines the tilt angles θ1 , θ2 by correcting the obtained tilt angles θ1 , θ2 based on the respective outputs of the camera 24 and the infrared sensor 25 .

In order to obtain emotional information, the estimation unit 412 uses the camera 24 and the infrared sensor 25 . That is, the estimation unit 412 acquires emotion information based on the respective outputs of the camera 24 and the infrared sensor 25 . In this embodiment, the emotion of the person 200 indicated by the emotion information is represented by a stress value. The estimation unit 412 determines the stress value from the emotion of the person 200 estimated by the expression of the person 200 captured in the output (image) of the camera 24 . For example, the estimation unit 412 classifies the expressions of the person 200 into five categories (ie, happy, surprised, angry, sad, and serious expressions). For example, the pressure value when the person 200 shows a surprised or serious expression may be set as a reference value. When he or she shows an angry or sad expression, the pressure value is higher than the reference value, and when he or she looks happy, the pressure value is lower than the reference value. In addition, the estimation unit 412 also estimates the emotion of the person 200 from the temperature of the face of the person 200 captured in the output (thermal image) of the infrared sensor 25 . For example, when the temperature of the face of the person 200 is found to be high, the estimation unit 412 sets the pressure value to an increased value. On the other hand, when the temperature of the face of the person 200 is found to be low, the estimation unit 412 sets the pressure value to a reduced value. In this way, the estimation unit 412 determines the stress value representing the emotion of the person 200 .

In order to acquire evolution information, the estimation unit 412 uses the infrared sensor 25 , the millimeter wave sensor 26 , the terahertz wave sensor 27 , and the exhalation sensor 28 . That is, the estimation unit 412 acquires evolution information based on the respective outputs of the infrared sensor 25 , the millimeter wave sensor 26 , the terahertz wave sensor 27 , and the exhalation sensor 28 . The evolution information includes changes in temperature (especially, the temperature of the nose) obtained based on the output of the infrared sensor 25, changes in heartbeat and respiration obtained based on the corresponding outputs of the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27, and changes based on the breath. Changes in exhaled breath obtained from the output of the gas sensor 28 .

In this embodiment, a pressure sensor 23 , a camera 24 , an infrared sensor 25 , a millimeter wave sensor 26 , a terahertz wave sensor 27 , and an exhalation sensor 28 are provided for each seat 110 of the car 100 to acquire person information. Therefore, when the plurality of persons 200 are on the car 100 , the estimation unit 412 performs estimation processing for each of the plurality of persons 200 , respectively.

The estimation unit 412 acquires moving vehicle information based on the respective outputs of the acceleration sensor 21 a , the angular velocity sensor 21 b , and the scent sensor 22 . As described above, the moving vehicle information includes behavior information and atmosphere information. The behavior information includes various information related to the behavior of the automobile 100, including its turning direction, turning speed, driving direction, and propulsion force. The atmosphere information includes information about the smell as the atmosphere in the interior space of the car 100 . Odor is represented as the concentration of gas detected by the odor sensor 22 .

In this way, the estimation unit 412 acquires information including posture information (represented by the inclination angles θ1, θ2), emotion information (represented by the first pressure value and the second pressure value), and evolution information (represented by body temperature, heartbeat, respiration, and exhalation). Situation information including the change of gas indication). In addition, the estimation unit 412 also acquires moving vehicle information including behavior information (related to the traveling direction and propulsion force of the automobile 100 ) and atmosphere information (related to the concentration of gas).

When performing the estimation process, the estimation unit 412 determines whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on the estimation value about motion sickness. When the estimated value for motion sickness is found to be equal to or greater than the preset threshold, the estimation unit 412 determines that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness. On the other hand, when the estimated value for motion sickness is found to be less than the preset threshold, the estimation unit 412 determines that the person 200 is not in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness.

Estimates for motion sickness can be determined from the following six factors (1) to (6).

The factor (1) includes the inclination angles θ1 , θ2 and the traveling direction and propulsion force of the automobile 100 . The change in the person's posture (represented by the inclination angles θ1, θ2) that lags behind the behavior of the car 100 (including the direction of travel and propulsion) constitutes a factor that increases the estimated value of motion sickness. Especially when the inclination angles θ1, θ2 or the driving direction or propulsion force of the car 100 are found to be larger than their reference values, the estimation unit 412 obtains the size of the gap between the behavior of the car 100 and the posture of the person, so that according to the size of the gap to increase the estimate. Therefore, when the magnitude of the gap between the behavior of the car 100 and the person's posture is accumulated so that the estimated value for motion sickness is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is determined that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness.

Factor (2) is the change in body temperature. It is known that when a person experiences motion sickness, his or her body temperature (especially, the temperature of his or her nose) decreases. Thus, signs of a drop in body temperature constituted a factor in increasing the estimates for motion sickness.

Factor (3) is the gas concentration. In this embodiment, the gas concentration is the concentration of gas that tends to induce an episode of motion sickness in the person 200 . Therefore, the gas concentration equal to or greater than the reference value constitutes a factor that increases the estimated value for motion sickness.

Factor (4) is the change in exhalation. In this example, a change in exhalation represents a change in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) in the exhaled breath. People with milder symptoms of motion sickness are known to exhale with higher _CO2 concentrations. Therefore, the concentration of CO ₂ in the exhaled breath is equal to or less than the reference: the reference value constitutes a factor for the increase of the estimates regarding motion sickness.

Factor (5) includes a first pressure value and a second pressure value. People with high mental stress are relatively prone to develop motion sickness. Therefore, the increase in the pressure value constitutes a factor for the increase in the estimates of motion sickness.

Factor (6) includes changes in heartbeat and respiration. People who experience motion sickness are known to have higher breathing rates. Therefore, an increase in respiratory rate was a factor in the increase in estimates of motion sickness. Whether the respiratory rate has increased can be determined by seeing if the respiratory rate has become equal to or greater than a threshold. Alternatively, it may be determined whether the breathing frequency has increased by checking whether the heartbeat frequency has become equal to or greater than the reference value without causing an increase in the heartbeat component. Still alternatively, it may be determined whether the breathing frequency has increased by checking whether the ratio of the high frequency component of the heartbeat variation spectrum to its low frequency component is equal to or greater than a reference value.

In this way, when performing the estimation process, the estimation unit 412 determines whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness based on the estimation value about motion sickness. In this case, the threshold for the estimated value of motion sickness may vary from person to person 200 . For example, the threshold value can be appropriately set via experiments. Setting the threshold appropriately will improve the estimation accuracy of the estimation process. Likewise, the reference values of factors (3), (4) and (6) may also vary from person to person 200 . For example, these reference values can be appropriately set through experiments. Appropriately setting the reference value will improve the estimation accuracy of the estimation process.

The output unit 413 outputs the result of the estimation process of the estimation unit 412 to the notification unit 414 and the control unit 415 .

The notification unit 414 receives the result of the estimation process from the output unit 413 . If the result of the estimation process indicates that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness, the notification unit 414 performs notification processing of notifying the person 200 of the possibility of the onset of motion sickness. On the other hand, if the result of the estimation process received by the notification unit 414 after the notification process has been performed does not indicate that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness, the notification unit 414 ends the notification process.

The notification unit 414 establishes a notification system in cooperation with a specific device included in the device system 30 . The notification system is a system for notifying the person 200 in the car 100 of the possibility of a motion sickness attack. In this embodiment, the notification system includes not only the notification unit 414 , but also the speaker 31 and the car navigation system 32 . The notification unit 414 uses the speaker 31 and the car navigation system 32 to perform notification processing. When executing the notification process, the notification unit 414 notifies the person 200 of the possibility of the onset of motion sickness by causing the speaker 31 and the car navigation system 32 to emit a voice message (voice announcement). The voice message (voice announcement) may be a message urging the person 200 to stop what he or she is doing, such as reading a book, playing a game, or operating a PC. This prompts him or her to take measures to prevent motion sickness, such as closing his eyes or lying on a seat. Alternatively, the notification unit 414 may use an alarm sound such as a buzzing sound, and may or may not display a warning message (warning announcement) displayed as a sentence on the screen.

The control unit 415 receives the result of the estimation process from the output unit 413 . If the result of the estimation process indicates that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness, the control unit 415 executes prevention processing to prevent the person 200 from developing motion sickness. If the result of the estimation process that the control unit 415 receives after the prevention process has been performed does not indicate that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness, the control unit 415 ends the prevention process. In this embodiment, when a plurality of persons 200 are on the car 100 , the estimation unit 412 performs estimation processing on each of the plurality of persons 200 , respectively. Therefore, the control unit 415 determines whether to perform preventive processing on each of the plurality of persons 200, respectively, based on the result of the estimation processing performed on each of the plurality of persons 200. Therefore, if a plurality of persons 200 are on the car 100, the control unit 415 performs preventive processing on each of the plurality of persons 200, respectively.

The control unit 415 cooperates with specific devices included in the equipment system 30 to establish a prevention system. The prevention system is a system for preventing the person 200 in the car 100 from developing motion sickness. In this embodiment, the prevention system includes not only the control unit 415, but also the speaker 31, the car navigation system 32, the air conditioner 33, the power windows 34, the drive unit 35, the odor control device 36, the relaxation device 37, the ride controller 38 and Cooling device 39 . The control unit 415 performs preventive processing by using the speaker 31 , the car navigation system 32 , the air conditioner 33 , the power windows 34 , the drive unit 35 , the odor control device 36 , the relaxation device 37 , the travel controller 38 , and the cooling device 39 .

When the preventive processing is performed, the speaker 31 emits a voice message (voice announcement) advising the person 200 to take a rest without hesitation.

When performing the preventive process, the car navigation system 32 changes the route to the destination of the car 100 to relieve the burden on the person 200 . That is, the preventive process includes changing the route to the destination of the car 100 to a route that reduces the possibility of the person 200 developing motion sickness. For example, the route to the destination of the car 100 may be changed from a route through a mountain road to a route through an urban area. In addition, the car navigation system 32 also controls the image presented on the display or the HUD of the car navigation system 32 to reduce the burden on the personnel 200 when the preventive processing is performed. For example, the car navigation system 32 may move or rotate the image according to the body movement of the person 200 (up, down, right, left, forward, or backward). Optionally, the car navigation system 32 may also use the pressure sensor 23 to calculate the height and weight of the person 200 to display the appropriate relief medication for motion sickness and recommend him or her to take such relief medication. This can determine the type and dose of reliever medication. That is, it can be determined whether the person 200 should take the relief medication for children or the relief medication for adults, and the amount to be taken.

When the preventive treatment is performed, the relaxation device 37 uses the air conditioner 33 and the power window 34 to produce a relaxation effect.

The driving unit 35 changes the surface shape of the seat 110 to reduce the burden on the person 200 when the preventive treatment is performed. For example, the driving unit 35 controls the head 210 and the torso 220 of the person 200 according to at least one of acceleration or angular velocity of the automobile 100 by driving the first actuator 351 , the second actuator 352 and the third actuator 353 the corresponding inclination angle. Specifically, the driving unit 35 drives the first actuator 351 , the second actuator 352 and the third actuator 353 in order to reduce the gap between the behavior of the car 100 and the posture of the person.

When the preventive treatment is performed, the odor control device 36 emits a deodorant component (deodorant). This allows the odor control device 36 to reduce the likelihood of a motion sickness episode for the person 200 by reducing the concentration of gas that tends to induce motion sickness episodes.

The relaxation device 37 produces a relaxation effect on the person 200 when the preventive treatment is performed. The relaxation effect can be produced by the methods described above.

When the preventive process is executed, the travel controller 38 controls the travel of the automobile 100 so as to reduce the burden on the person 200 . For example, the ride controller 38 may slow down the car 100 to reduce the burden on the person 200 due to the behavior of the car 100 . Alternatively, the drive controller 38 may park the car 100 in a safe place, such as a rest area (called a "service area" in Japan) or a parking lot. In addition, when the preventive processing is performed, the travel controller 38 changes the control details of the traveling vehicle (car 100 ) according to the remaining travel time it takes for the moving vehicle (car 100 ) to reach its destination. For example, upon finding that the remaining travel time to the destination is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the travel controller 38 determines that the car 100 cannot reach the destination before the person 200 develops motion sickness, and thus decelerates the moving vehicle (car 100 ). On the other hand, when the remaining travel time to the destination is found to be less than the predetermined time, the travel controller 38 determines that the car 100 cannot reach the destination before the person 200 develops motion sickness, and therefore does not change the speed of the moving vehicle (car 100 ) .

The cooling device 39 cools a part of the body of the person 200 when the preventive treatment is performed. For example, cooling device 39 may use Peltier elements disposed below support surface 111 of seat 110 and below head restraint 113 to rapidly cool the neck or between the legs of person 200 (appropriately, rapidly cool the back of the neck) . This will create a balance between the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system by inhibiting the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby reducing the possibility of the person 200 suffering from motion sickness. In this case, the magnitude of the decrease in temperature of the part of the body of the person 200 caused by the cooling device 39 can be determined, for example, based on clinical data related to motion sickness of the person 200 .

The control unit 415 does not have to use all of the speaker 31 , the car navigation system 32 , the air conditioner 33 , the power windows 34 , the drive unit 35 , the odor control device 36 , the relaxation device 37 , the running controller 38 , and the cooling device 39 when performing preventive processing . The control unit 415 changes the details of the prevention process according to the estimated value about motion sickness. For example, the control unit 415 may instruct the travel controller 38 to decelerate the vehicle 100 when the estimated value for motion sickness is found to be equal to or greater than a threshold value but less than a preset value. On the other hand, when the estimated value regarding motion sickness is found to be equal to or greater than the preset value, the control unit 415 may instruct the travel controller 38 to stop the car 100 . That is, when executing the prevention process, the control unit 415 may start with a process type that achieves a relatively less pronounced motion sickness prevention effect, and may switch to a more significant motion sickness prevention effect when the motion sickness prevention effect is found to be insufficient Type of treatment for preventive effect.

The storage unit 416 stores an estimation algorithm (hereinafter referred to as "motion sickness estimation program") for determining the details of estimation processing to be performed by the estimation unit 412 . In this embodiment, the controller 40 may obtain information about motion sickness from the data center 50 . Therefore, the estimation unit 412 corrects the estimation algorithm stored in the storage unit 416 based on the information acquired from the data center 50 (ie, information on motion sickness). An example of the information on motion sickness includes road information of a road on which the car 100 will travel (related to the roughness of the road surface and the curvature radius of the curve). If the surface roughness of the road on which the car 100 is to be driven is significant, this will increase the likelihood that the person 200 will experience motion sickness. In this case, the estimation unit 412 lowers the threshold of the estimation value for motion sickness used in the estimation process to increase the likelihood of the estimation process result indicating that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness.

In the above-described motion sickness estimation system 10 , the controller 40 includes an estimation unit 412 and an output unit 413 . Controller 40 is implemented as a combination of one or more processors and one or more memories. That is, the functions of the controller 40 are performed by causing one or more processors to execute a program (ie, a motion sickness estimation program). When executed by the one or more processors, the motion sickness estimation program provides the first instructions and the second instructions to the one or more processors. The first instruction is an instruction to perform an estimation process that estimates whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on the person information indicating the condition of the person 200 on the moving vehicle (car 100 ). The second instruction is an instruction for outputting the result of the estimation process. This motion sickness estimation procedure, like the motion sickness estimation system 10, also reduces the occurrence of motion sickness.

In other words, it can be said that the controller 40 is executing the following motion sickness estimation method. The motion sickness estimation method includes a first step and a second step. The first step includes performing an estimation process that estimates whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on person information indicative of the condition of the person 200 on the moving vehicle (car 100 ). The second step includes: outputting the result of the estimation process. This motion sickness estimation method, like the motion sickness estimation system 10, also reduces the occurrence of motion sickness.

1.3. Operation

Next, an exemplary operation of the motion sickness estimation system 10 will be briefly described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 .

First, the estimation unit 412 acquires person information and moving vehicle information based on the output of the sensing system 20 obtained via the input unit 411 (in S11 and S12, respectively). Next, the estimation unit 412 performs estimation processing of estimating whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on the person information and the moving vehicle information (in S13 ). The result of the estimation process is transmitted by the output unit 413 to the notification unit 414 and the control unit 415 . If the result of the estimation process indicates that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness (if the answer in S14 is YES), the notification system executes the notification process (in S15 ), and the prevention system executes the prevention process (in S16). On the other hand, if the result of the estimation process does not indicate that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness (if the answer in S14 is "No") and the notification process and the prevention process are being performed (if in S17 The answer is "Yes"), the notification process and the prevention process are ended (in S18). On the other hand, if neither the notification process nor the prevention process is performed (if the answer in S17 is "NO"), the process returns to step S11.

As can be seen from the foregoing description, the motion sickness estimation system 10 according to this embodiment performs notification processing and prevention processing when it is estimated that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness. This allows the motion sickness estimation system 10 to reduce the likelihood of motion sickness episodes. In addition, the notification process and the prevention process are performed only when it is estimated that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness. This reduces the likelihood that notification and prevention are performed when neither notification nor prevention is required, thereby making the person 200 uncomfortable, or even inducing an episode of motion sickness conversely.

2. Variations

Note that the above-described embodiments are merely examples of the present disclosure, and should not be construed as limiting. Rather, depending upon design choice or any other factor, the embodiments may be readily modified in various ways, all without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Next, modifications to the above-described embodiment will be listed in order.

According to a variant, the preventive system may be configured to perform preventive processing if the result of the evaluation process indicates that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness even after the notification process has been performed by the notification system.

Next, an exemplary operation of the motion sickness estimation system 10 according to this modification will be briefly described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 .

First, the estimation unit 412 acquires person information and moving vehicle information based on the output of the sensing system 20 obtained via the input unit 411 (in S21 and S22, respectively). Next, the estimation unit 412 performs estimation processing of estimating whether or not the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on the person information and the moving vehicle information (in S23 ). The result of the estimation process is transmitted by the output unit 413 to the notification unit 414 and the control unit 415 . If the result of the estimation process indicates that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness (if the answer in S24 is YES), it is determined whether the notification process is being performed (in S25 ). If the notification process is not performed (if the answer in S25 is "NO"), the notification system performs the notification process (in S26), and the process returns to step S21. Meanwhile, if the notification process is being executed (if the answer in S25 is YES), the prevention system executes the prevention process (in S27 ), and the process returns to step S21. On the other hand, if the result of the estimation process does not indicate that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness (if the answer in S24 is "NO"), it is determined whether the notification process is being executed (in S28 ) . If the notification process is not being executed (if the answer in S28 is "NO"), the process returns to step S21. Meanwhile, if the notification process is being executed (if the answer in S28 is YES), it is determined whether the prevention process is being executed (in S29 ). If the preventive process is being executed (if the answer in S29 is YES), the notification process and the preventive process (in S30 ) are ended, and the process returns to step S21 . Meanwhile, if the prevention process is not being executed (if the answer in S29 is "NO"), the notification process is ended (in S31), and the process returns to step S21.

As can be seen from the foregoing description, the motion sickness estimating system 10 according to this modification performs notification processing when it is estimated that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness. Then, if it is estimated that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness even after the notification processing is performed, the motion sickness estimation system 10 performs preventive processing. This allows the motion sickness estimation system 10 to reduce episodes of motion sickness. And, the prevention process is performed only when it is estimated that the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness even after the notification process is performed. This reduces the likelihood that prevention will be performed when it is not needed, thereby making the person 200 uncomfortable, or even inducing a motion sickness episode on the contrary.

The sensing system 20 need not include all of the acceleration sensor 21a, the angular velocity sensor 21b, the scent sensor 22, the pressure sensor 23, the camera 24, the infrared sensor 25, the millimeter wave sensor 26, the terahertz wave sensor 27, and the exhalation sensor 28. The sensing system 20 may further include any other type of device. At least the sensing system 20 needs to be configured to obtain personnel information about the person 200 . In addition, the pressure sensor 23 needs to detect at least one of the center of gravity of the person 200 or the distribution of the pressure exerted by the person 200 on the moving vehicle (car 100 ). That is, the pressure sensor 23 does not have to detect both as in the above-described embodiment. The pressure sensor 23 may consist of a single sensing element, or may include multiple sensing elements arranged in an array.

The equipment system 30 need not include all of the speakers 31 , the car navigation system 32 , the air conditioner 33 , the power windows 34 , the drive unit 35 , the odor control device 36 , the relaxation device 37 , the ride controller 38 and the cooling device 39 . The device system 30 may further include any other type of apparatus. For example, device system 30 may include a bag feeder for automatically feeding vomit bags. In this case, the bag feeder may automatically feed the vomit bag to the person 200 when the preventive treatment is performed. Note that it is appropriate that the vomit bag emits an odor that is effective in preventing motion sickness (ie, an odor such as the sweetness of an air freshener that relieves motion sickness). Optionally, device system 30 may also include a beverage and food dispenser for automatically serving beverages or food. In this case, the beverage and food dispenser may automatically supply the person 200 with beverage or food when the preventive treatment is performed. Examples of such beverages and foods include beverages and sweets that are effective in preventing motion sickness. For example, beverage and food dispensers can provide a cup of herbal tea that is effective in preventing motion sickness.

Examples of preventive treatments using device system 30 include awakening past memories, stimulating semicircular canals, and inducing sleep. Past memories, such as past conditions of person 200 and the atmosphere around him or her in the past, are brought back to life by reconciling the current conditions of person 200 and the atmosphere around him or her currently. In particular, to this end, the odor control device 36 may emit the same odor components that the person 200 has smelled in the past, can re-present the same visual information as in the past (such as the vibration of the display screen of the car navigation system), and can The temperature is set to the same value as in the past by the air conditioner 33 . Examples of stimulation of the semicircular canals include visual stimulation, olfactory stimulation, tactile stimulation, body temperature control, auditory stimulation, taste stimulation, and pharmacodynamics. The visual stimulus may be applied to the person 200 by illuminating the person 200 with light for a short time. The olfactory stimulus may be applied to the person 200 by emitting a strong odor component towards the person 200 . The haptic stimulation may be applied to the person 200 by applying fine vibrations to the person 200 from the driving unit 35 . The body temperature of the person 200 may be controlled by cooling the body of the person 200 with the air conditioner 33 or the cooling device 39 . Auditory stimuli may be applied to person 200 by emitting low frequency or high frequency sounds from speaker 31 . Taste stimulation may be applied to person 200 by providing a taste stimulating beverage or food, such as herbal tea or mustard. The medicinal effect can be applied to the person 200 by supplying a motion sickness alleviation medicine prepared in advance, or by vaporizing the motion sickness alleviating medicine and supplying the alleviating medicine to the person 200 using the air conditioner 33 . Examples of sleep induction include sleep induction with drugs, sleep induction with vibration, sleep induction with music, sleep induction by heating the interior of the car 100, sleep induction by adjusting the lighting inside the odor) to induce sleep, and satiety to induce sleep. Examples of the use of music to induce sleep include the use of monotone music to induce sleep, and the induction of sleep by a series of sounds that are read aloud in incomprehensible language. Note that sleep induction with satiety may include inducing sleep indirectly by issuing a voice message prompting person 200 to eat some food.

The controller 40 needs to include at least an estimation unit 412 and an output unit 413 . That is, the notification unit 414 , the control unit 415 and the storage unit 416 are not necessary constituent elements of the controller 40 .

In the above-described exemplary embodiment, when the plurality of persons 200 are on the moving vehicle (car 100 ), the estimation unit 412 is assumed to perform estimation processing on each of the plurality of persons 200 , respectively. However, the estimation unit 412 does not have to perform the estimation processing on each of the plurality of persons 200 individually, but may perform the estimation processing on only the persons 200 sitting on the specific seat 110 .

Alternatively, when performing the estimation process, the estimation unit 412 may use a mathematical model for estimating the degree of "motion sickness" (for example, see http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/research/radiant/robot_ai/story9 .html). However, since the estimation process is a process of estimating whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness, various types of parameters need to be adjusted in this case.

When skin color is used as biological information about the person 200, it can be estimated whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness by detecting a change in skin color. A change in the skin color of the person 200 is considered a sign of an onset of motion sickness. Therefore, whether or not the skin color of the person 200 has changed may be used as a factor in determining an estimate regarding motion sickness. When the frequency of blinking is used as biological information about the person 200, it can be estimated whether the person 200 is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness by detecting a change in the number of blinks (per unit time). In the initial stages of motion sickness and in mild cases of motion sickness, the person's facial expressions were reported to become so-called "sluggish". When the person's expression is sluggish, the number of blinks per unit time tends to decrease compared to his or her normal condition. Therefore, a decrease in the number of blinks per unit time would be a hallmark of an episode of motion sickness. Therefore, the change in the number of blinks per unit time can be used as a factor in determining an estimate for motion sickness. For example, the skin color and blinking of the person 200 may be detected using the camera 24 as biological information about the person 200 .

In the above-described exemplary embodiment, the person information includes posture information, evolution information, and emotion information. Optionally, the person information may further include attribute information representing attributes of the person 200 . Examples of attributes of person 200 include his or her size, age, gender, physique, and physical condition. These attribute information can be entered by the person 200 himself using the car navigation system 32 through self-authentication. Such attribute information of the person 200 thus input may be stored in the storage unit 416 of the motion sickness estimation system 10 . For example, the motion sickness estimation system 10 may include the attribute information of the person 200 into the usage record of the car 100 by the person 200 . Optionally, the attribute information input by the person 200 into the telecommunication device 60 may be acquired by the motion sickness estimation system 10 via the communication unit 42 . Also, the attribute information may be inferred from the lighting-off time and the air-conditioning operation duration in conjunction with the home appliances installed in the residence of the person 200, or may be acquired through an infrared sensor monitoring the air-conditioning. Using attribute information can make the details of the estimation process more suitable for the person 200 . For example, a threshold value for an estimated value of motion sickness in the estimation process can be adjusted according to the attribute information, thereby improving the accuracy of the estimation process. Note that the person information needs to include at least posture information. That is to say, evolution information, emotion information and attribute information are not necessary elements of personnel information.

Optionally, the estimation unit 412 may cause the storage unit 416 to store the result of the estimation process for each person 200 . In addition, the estimation unit 412 may accept feedback on the result of the estimation process for each person 200 . For example, such feedback may be entered through the car navigation system 32 . The estimation unit 412 can appropriately correct thresholds, reference values, and other values used in the estimation process for each person 200 based on the feedback. Furthermore, the estimation unit 412 may transmit the information about motion sickness to the data center 50 and the telecommunication device 60 via the communication unit 42 . This enables person 200 to confirm their susceptibility to motion sickness and a history of past episodes of motion sickness.

Optionally, the storage unit 416 may store the motion sickness history for each person 200 . For example, the history of motion sickness may include a history of estimation results of the estimating unit 412 for motion sickness. The motion sickness history enables the motion sickness estimation system 10 to discover, for each individual, which specific factors tend to induce the person 200 to experience motion sickness. For example, the estimation unit 412 may correct thresholds, reference values, and other values used in the estimation process for each person based on the motion sickness history for each person 200 . For example, in the case of the person 200 determined to be susceptible to an unpleasant odor based on the history of motion sickness, the estimated value may be set to a relatively high value for the odor by lowering the reference value of the odor-related factor (3). . Meanwhile, in the case of the person 200 determined to have a fragile semicircular canal according to the history of motion sickness, the estimated value can be set to a relatively high value for the posture by lowering the reference value of the posture-related factor (1). This enables the estimation process to be adaptively performed for each individual person 200, thereby promising to improve the accuracy of estimation. For example, the control unit 415 may also make the type of preventive treatment different for each person 200 based on the history of motion sickness for each person 200 . Specifically, in the case of the person 200 who is determined to be easily affected by an unpleasant odor based on the history of motion sickness, the preventive processing of the odor control device 36 may preferably be performed. Meanwhile, in the case of the person 200 determined to have a fragile semicircular canal according to the history of motion sickness, prevention processing of the drive unit 35 may preferably be performed. This enables the prevention process to be adaptively performed for each individual person 200, thereby promising to improve the motion sickness prevention effect.

In the above-described exemplary embodiment, the ratio of the high frequency component to the low frequency component of the heartbeat variation spectrum is used to determine whether the breathing frequency has increased. This ratio is known to represent relative pressure values. In view of these considerations, the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 may be used in combination to obtain emotional information. That is, the relative pressure value can be used as a factor in determining an estimate for motion sickness. Note that, in order to obtain the heartbeat variation spectrum, at least one of the millimeter wave sensor 26 or the terahertz wave sensor 27 needs to be used, and it is not necessary to use both the millimeter wave sensor 26 and the terahertz wave sensor 27 .

Furthermore, in the above-described exemplary embodiment, the atmosphere in the interior space of the moving vehicle (car 100 ) represented by the atmosphere information is the smell. Optionally, the ambience may include brightness and temperature. The brightness in the interior space of the moving vehicle may be acquired by a brightness sensor. The temperature in the interior space of the moving vehicle can be acquired by a temperature sensor. Brightness and temperature may affect the condition of personnel 200 . Therefore, using brightness and temperature as additional ambient information helps to further improve the accuracy of the estimation process. However, atmosphere information is not always required in the estimation process.

The controller 40 may be implemented as a plurality of computers, and various functions of the controller 40 (ie, the corresponding functions of the input unit 411, the estimation unit 412, the output unit 413, the notification unit 414, the control unit 415, and the storage unit 416) may be distributed across multiple computers. For example, the notification unit 414 need not form part of the controller 40, but may be provided as any other device for forming a notification system (such as the car navigation system 32). Alternatively, the notification unit 414 may also be distributed among multiple devices forming the notification system. Likewise, the control unit 415 need not form part of the controller 40, but may be provided as any other device (such as the ride controller 38) for forming the prevention system. Alternatively, the control unit 415 may be distributed among multiple devices forming the prevention system. Alternatively, at least a portion of the controller 40 may be implemented as a cloud computing system.

As can be seen, the entity performing the functions of the motion sickness estimation system 10 includes a computer system. In this case, the computer system may include one or more processors and one or more memories as major hardware components. The functions of an entity for motion sickness estimation system 10 in accordance with the present disclosure may be performed by causing one or more processors to execute programs stored in one or more memories of a computer system. The program may be pre-stored in one or more memories of the computer system. Alternatively, the program may also be downloaded over a telecommunication line, or distributed after it has been recorded in any non-transitory storage medium readable by a computing system, such as a memory card, optical disc, or hard drive. One or more processors of a computer system may consist of single or multiple electronic circuits including semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) or large scale integrated circuits (LSIs). These electronic circuits can be integrated together on a single chip or distributed across multiple chips as appropriate. These multiple chips can optionally be integrated together in a single device or distributed across multiple devices.

In the above-described exemplary embodiment, the moving vehicle provided with the motion sickness estimation system 10 is the automobile 100 . However, this is only an example and should not be construed as limiting. Alternatively, the motion sickness estimation system 10 may be provided for various other types of vehicles (not just automobiles 10), ships, and airplanes. The motion sickness estimation system 10 may also be configured for use in a mobile vehicle used as an attraction, such as a roller coaster, in an entertainment facility. Furthermore, the motion sickness estimation system 10 may also be configured for use with a real screen (such as a monitor screen or a cinema screen) or a virtual environment (such as augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) using a pair of glasses) system (mainly the seat).

3. Aspects

As can be seen from the foregoing description of exemplary embodiments and modifications thereof, the present disclosure has the following first to twenty-second aspects. In the following description, reference numerals are added in parentheses around the corresponding constituent elements only to clarify the correspondence between the aspects of the present disclosure and the above-described exemplary embodiments.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the first aspect includes an estimation unit (412) and an output unit (413). The estimation unit (412) is configured to perform an estimation process of estimating whether the person (200) is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness based on person information indicating the condition of the person (200) on the moving vehicle (100). The output unit (413) is configured to output the result of the estimation process performed by the estimation unit (312). The first aspect can reduce the occurrence of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the second aspect may be implemented in conjunction with the first aspect. In the second aspect, the estimation unit (412) is configured to perform the estimation process with reference not only to the personnel information but also to vehicle information indicative of the condition of the moving vehicle (100). The second aspect can improve the accuracy of the estimation process.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the third aspect may be implemented in conjunction with the second aspect. In a third aspect, the vehicle information includes at least one of behavior information indicating the behavior of the moving vehicle (100) and atmosphere information indicating the atmosphere in the interior space of the moving vehicle (100). The third aspect can improve the accuracy of the estimation process.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the fourth aspect may be implemented in combination with any of the first to third aspects. In a fourth aspect, the person information includes at least one of the following items: posture information indicating the posture of the person (200); attribute information indicating the attribute of the person (200); and how the biological information of the person (200) has changed Evolution information; or emotional information indicative of the emotion of the person (200). The fourth aspect can improve the accuracy of the estimation process.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the fifth aspect may be implemented in conjunction with the fourth aspect. In a fifth aspect, the person information includes gesture information. The estimation unit (412) is connected to and is able to communicate with the pressure sensor (23), the pressure sensor (23) being configured to detect the center of gravity of the person (200) and move the vehicle (100) by the person (200) at least one of the distribution of applied pressures. The estimation unit (412) is configured to determine the pose of the person (200) based on the output of the pressure sensor (23). The fifth aspect can improve the accuracy of the estimation process.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the sixth aspect may be implemented in combination with any of the first to fifth aspects. In a sixth aspect, the motion sickness estimation system (10) includes a notification system (414, 31, 32) configured to receive the result of the estimation process from the output unit (413). The notification system (414, 31, 32) is configured to perform informing the person (200) of the likelihood of a motion sickness episode when the result of the estimation process indicates that the person (200) is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness notification handling. The sixth aspect can help prevent the onset of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the seventh aspect may be implemented in combination with any of the first to sixth aspects. In a seventh aspect, the motion sickness estimation system (10) includes a prevention system (415, 32-39) configured to receive the result of the estimation process from the output unit (413). The prevention system (415, 32-39) is configured to perform a prevention process to prevent the person (200) from experiencing motion sickness when the result of the estimation process indicates that the person (200) is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness. The seventh aspect can help prevent the onset of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the eighth aspect may be implemented in combination with any of the first to fifth aspects. In an eighth aspect, the motion sickness estimation system (10) comprises: a notification system (414, 31, 32) configured to receive the result of the estimation process from the output unit (413); and a prevention system (415, 32-39) , is configured to receive the result of the estimation process from the output unit (413). The notification system (414, 31, 32) is configured to perform informing the person (200) of the possibility of developing motion sickness when the result of the estimation process indicates that the person (200) is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness notification handling. The prevention system (415, 32-39) is configured to estimate that, even after the notification system (414, 31, 32) has performed the notification process, the outcome of the process still indicates that the person (200) is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness In the middle, the preventive treatment for preventing the person (200) from developing motion sickness is performed. The eighth aspect can help prevent the onset of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the ninth aspect may be implemented in conjunction with the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect. In a ninth aspect, the prevention system (415, 32-39) includes a drive unit (35) mounted in a seat (110) of the moving vehicle (100) and configured to change the seat ( 110) of the surface shape. The ninth aspect may help prevent the onset of motion sickness due to the posture of the person (200).

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the tenth aspect may be implemented in conjunction with the ninth aspect. In a tenth aspect, the drive unit (35) comprises one or more actuators (1 or more actuators (111) mounted in at least one of the support surface (111) of the seat (110) or the backrest (112) of the seat (110) 351, 352, 353). The tenth aspect may help prevent the onset of motion sickness due to the posture of the person (200).

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the eleventh aspect may be implemented in combination with any of the seventh to tenth aspects. In an eleventh aspect, the prevention system (415, 32-39) includes an odor control device (36) having components for controlling odor inside the moving vehicle (100). The eleventh aspect may help prevent the onset of motion sickness due to odors in the moving vehicle (100).

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the twelfth aspect may be implemented in combination with any of the seventh to eleventh aspects. In a twelfth aspect, the prevention system (415, 32-39) includes a relaxation device (37) configured to produce a relaxation effect on the person (200). The twelfth aspect can help prevent the onset of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the thirteenth aspect may be implemented in combination with any of the seventh to twelfth aspects. In a thirteenth aspect, the prevention system (415, 32-39) includes a travel controller (38) configured to control travel of the moving vehicle (100). The thirteenth aspect can help prevent the onset of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the fourteenth aspect may be implemented in conjunction with the thirteenth aspect. In a fourteenth aspect, the travel controller (38) is configured to control travel of the moving vehicle (100) in the prevention process to reduce the burden on the person (200). The fourteenth aspect can help prevent the onset of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the fifteenth aspect may be implemented in conjunction with the thirteenth or fourteenth aspect. In a fifteenth aspect, the travel controller (38) is configured to change control details of the moving vehicle (100) in a preventive process based on the remaining travel time it takes for the moving vehicle (100) to reach its destination. The fifteenth aspect can help prevent the onset of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the sixteenth aspect may be implemented in conjunction with any of the seventh to fifteenth aspects. In a sixteenth aspect, the prevention system (415, 32-39) includes a cooling device (39) configured to cool a portion of the body of the person (200). The sixteenth aspect can help prevent the onset of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the seventeenth aspect may be implemented in combination with any of the first to sixteenth aspects. In a seventeenth aspect, the motion sickness estimation system (10) further includes a communication unit (42) configured to communicate with a data center (50) that collects information about motion sickness. The seventeenth aspect can improve the accuracy of the estimation process.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the eighteenth aspect may be implemented in conjunction with the seventeenth aspect. In an eighteenth aspect, the motion sickness estimation system (10) includes a storage unit (416) configured to store an estimation algorithm for determining details of the estimation process. The estimation unit (412) is configured to correct the estimation algorithm stored in the storage unit (416) based on the information provided by the data center (50). The eighteenth aspect can improve the accuracy of the estimation process.

The motion sickness estimation system (10) according to the nineteenth aspect may be implemented in combination with any of the first to eighteenth aspects. In a nineteenth aspect, the estimation unit (412) is configured to perform the estimation process on each of the plurality of persons (200), respectively, when the plurality of persons (200) are on the moving vehicle (100). The nineteenth aspect can reduce the onset of motion sickness among multiple persons (200) on the same moving vehicle (100).

A moving vehicle (100) according to the twentieth aspect includes: the motion sickness estimation system (10) according to any one of the first to nineteenth aspects; and a body (101) in which the motion sickness estimation system (10) is installed ). The twentieth aspect can reduce the occurrence of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation method according to the twenty-first aspect includes a first step and a second step. The first step includes performing an estimation process of estimating whether the person (200) is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness based on person information indicating the condition of the person (200) on the moving vehicle (100). The second step includes outputting the results of the estimation process. The twenty-first aspect can reduce the occurrence of motion sickness.

The motion sickness estimation program according to the twenty-second aspect is designed, when executed by the one or more processors, to provide the first instruction and the second instruction to the one or more processors. The first instruction is an instruction for performing an estimation process of estimating whether the person (200) is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness based on person information indicating the condition of the person (200) on the moving vehicle (100). The second instruction is an instruction for outputting the result of the estimation process. The twenty-second aspect can reduce the occurrence of motion sickness.

List of reference signs

10 Motion Sickness Estimation System

21a Accelerometer

21b Angular velocity sensor

22 Odor Sensor

23 Pressure sensor

24 cameras

25 Infrared sensor

26 mmWave sensor

27 Terahertz wave sensor

28 Exhalation sensor

29 Sensor unit

31 speakers

32 Car Navigation Systems

33 Air conditioning

34 Power windows

35 drive unit

351 First Actuator

352 Second Actuator

353 Third Actuator

36 Odour Control Devices

37 Relaxation device

38 Ride controller

39 Cooling unit

412 Estimation unit

413 Output unit

414 Notification Unit

415 Control Unit

416 memory cells

42 Communication unit

50 data centers

100 Cars (mobile vehicles)

110 seats

111 Support surface

112 Backrest

200 people.

Claims (22)

1. A motion sickness estimation system, comprising: an estimation unit configured to perform an estimation process of estimating whether the person is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness based on the person information indicating the condition of the person on the moving vehicle; and An output unit configured to output a result of the estimation process performed by the estimation unit. 2. The motion sickness estimation system of claim 1, wherein, The estimation unit is configured to perform the estimation process with reference not only to the person information but also vehicle information indicating the condition of the moving vehicle. 3. The motion sickness estimation system of claim 2, wherein, The vehicle information includes at least one of behavior information indicating behavior of the moving vehicle and atmosphere information indicating an atmosphere in an interior space of the moving vehicle. 4. The motion sickness estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The person information includes at least one of: posture information indicating a posture of the person; attribute information indicating an attribute of the person; evolution information indicating how the biological information of the person changes; or Emotional information about the mood of the person. 5. The motion sickness estimation system of claim 4, wherein, the person information includes the posture information, The estimating unit is connected to and is capable of communicating with a pressure sensor, the pressure sensor being configured to detect at least one of a center of gravity of the person and a distribution of pressure applied by the person to the moving vehicle ,as well as The estimation unit is configured to determine the posture of the person based on the output of the pressure sensor. 6. The motion sickness estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a notification system configured to receive a result of the estimation process from the output unit, wherein, The notification system is configured to perform a notification process of notifying the person of the possibility of developing motion sickness when the result of the estimation process indicates that the person is in an environment that would cause him or her to develop motion sickness. 7. The motion sickness estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising a prevention system configured to receive a result of the estimation process from the output unit, wherein, The prevention system is configured to execute a prevention process for preventing the person from developing motion sickness when the result of the estimation process indicates that the person is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness. 8. The motion sickness estimation system of any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: a notification system configured to receive a result of the estimation process from the output unit; and a prevention system configured to receive a result of the estimation process from the output unit, wherein, The notification system is configured to perform a notification process of notifying the person of the possibility of developing motion sickness when the result of the estimation process indicates that the person is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness, and The prevention system is configured to perform the prevention procedure when the result of the estimation process indicates that the person is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness even after the notification process has been performed by the notification system. Prevention and treatment of motion sickness in the above-mentioned persons. 9. The motion sickness estimation system according to claim 7 or 8, wherein, The prevention system includes a drive unit mounted in a seat of the moving vehicle and configured to change a surface shape of the seat. 10. The motion sickness estimation system of claim 9, wherein, The drive unit includes one or more actuators mounted in at least one of a support surface of the seat or a backrest of the seat. 11. The motion sickness estimation system according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein, The prevention system includes an odor control device having components for controlling odor in the interior of the moving vehicle. 12. The motion sickness estimation system according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein, The prevention system includes a relaxation device configured to produce a relaxation effect on the person. 13. The motion sickness estimation system according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein, The prevention system includes a travel controller configured to control travel of the moving vehicle. 14. The motion sickness estimation system of claim 13, wherein, The travel controller is configured to control travel of the moving vehicle in the prevention process to reduce the burden on the person. 15. The motion sickness estimation system according to claim 13 or 14, wherein, The travel controller is configured to change control details of the moving vehicle in the preventive process based on the remaining travel time it takes the moving vehicle to reach its destination. 16. The motion sickness estimation system of any one of claims 7 to 15, wherein, The prevention system includes a cooling device configured to cool a portion of the person's body. 17. The motion sickness estimation system of any one of claims 1 to 16, further comprising a communication unit configured to communicate with a data center that collects information about motion sickness. 18. The motion sickness estimation system of claim 17, comprising a storage unit configured to store an estimation algorithm for determining details of the estimation process, wherein, The estimation unit is configured to correct the estimation algorithm stored in the storage unit based on information provided by the data center. 19. The motion sickness estimation system of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein, The estimation unit is configured to, when a plurality of persons are on the moving vehicle, individually perform the estimation process on each of the plurality of persons. 20. A mobile vehicle comprising: The motion sickness estimation system of any one of claims 1 to 19; and On the body, the motion sickness estimation system is installed. 21. A motion sickness estimation method, comprising: a first step of performing an estimation process of estimating whether the person is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness based on person information indicating the condition of the person on the moving vehicle; and The second step is to output the result of the estimation process. 22. A motion sickness estimation program designed to, when executed by one or more processors, provide to said one or more processors: first instructions for performing an estimation process of estimating whether the person is in an environment that would cause him or her to experience motion sickness based on person information indicating the condition of the person on the moving vehicle; and The second instruction is used to output the result of the estimation process.

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